Our goal is to make backpacking easier, safer, and more enjoyable for everyone. We hope to inspire travel and promote wilderness conservation through skill-based tutorials, comprehensive trip guides, and in-depth gear reviews.

The CleverHiker Gear Guide is a compilation of the very best backpacking Tents, Backpacks, Sleeping Bags, Stoves, Water Filters and a whole lot more. Use these exceptional tools to increase camp comfort and decrease trail weight.

Staying hydrated and avoiding parasites in the backcountry is critical. We explain the key differences of each water treatment method and share our personal favorites in our list of the Best Water Filters of 2018.

Trekking poles can add a lot of stability and comfort to your hike. We tested dozens of trekking poles to narrow the list down in terms of durability, comfort, weight and value to determine this year's Best Trekking Poles.

We put together this list to showcase some solid budget tents that strike a good balance between cost, weight, weather protection, and durability. If you’re on a tight budget or new to backpacking, check out our Best Budget Tents of the year.

Outdoor adventure gifts are the best kind around. The gift ideas listed in the CleverHiker Gift Guide are can’t miss recommendations for anyone that enjoys backpacking, hiking, and camping. So give a gift that gets someone outdoors this year. Give the gift of adventure!

Sadly, improperly buried human waste (and soiled toilet paper) is by far the most common form of pollution we find in the wilderness. With more than 2 million hikers and backpackers roaming the backcountry at any given time, it’s imperative that we all use a responsible and safe method for pooping in the woods.

Still very much a backpacking frontier, Death Valley National Park, at 3.4 million acres, is the largest national park in the US south of Alaska. Popular with desert-loving backpackers, this long and challenging hike is one of the few loop trails in Death Valley National Park. The route is undeniably beautiful, though a bit tricky to follow at times.

Before REI shuts its doors and encourages everyone to #optoutside on Black Friday, they're having a huge sale. TheGear Up-Get Outsale runs from November 9 - 19 and includes some of our favorite backpacking and hiking gear. Check out the gear we’re most excited about!

Standing 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley, Half Dome is without a doubt a US National Park icon. The route to the summit traverses some of the park’s most popular and spectacular hiking trails. The most exhilarating part of the hike — hauling yourself up the cables to the summit of Half Dome — is a challenge you won’t soon forget. The ultimate reward for all your hard work is one of the best views in Yosemite Valley.

With over 700 miles of trails winding through Glacier National Park, it can be hard to choose what areas you want to explore. The good news? You can’t go wrong in Glacier. With towering peaks, glistening turquoise lakes, wonderful wildlife sightings, and the possibility to get up close to a glacier, your options are endless.

A quality sleeping bag may be one of the biggest backpacking investments you ever make. Your sleep sack will likely cost hundreds of dollars, but if you treat it with care, it’ll last for many years, possibly even decades. That said, nothing will ruin a quality sleeping bag faster than neglect.

With more than 700 miles of backcountry trails traversing lush alpine meadows, glacier-carved peaks, deep valleys, and moss-fringed cirques cradling stunning azure lakes, Glacier National Park is as breathtakingly beautiful as it is physically and mentally demanding.

As you head toward the southeast corner of Oregon a panorama of raw wilderness stretches across the horizon, beckoning solitude seekers. The Steens Mountain monolith runs nearly 60 miles from northeast to southwest and 18 miles across, with its summit sitting at nearly 9,733 feet.

This loop explores a gorgeous alpine mountain basin with every enticement you dream of — misty mountain meadows, tall pines, small lakes and winding streams that tie it all together. And if that weren’t enough, the whole scene is framed by a massive mountain range with Kings Peak at its head.

One of REI’s biggest sales of the year, the Labor Day Sale is happening August 24 - September 3rd and includes some of our favorite backpacking, hiking, and camping gear. In addition to deep discounts, REI members also receive an extra 20% off one outlet item with coupon code: EXTRA20.

We spent this week walking around the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Denver, drooling over all the awesome new gear coming to the backpacking world in 2019. Outdoor Retailer is one of the largest gear conferences in the world and this week we were fortunate enough to meet up with some of our favorite companies to get a sneak peek at their upcoming innovations.

Moderately challenging, this hike takes you up to a high alpine lake with gorgeous campsites options. The trail follows the Stillwater and Ostler Forks of the Bear River as it ascends about 2050 feet, passing beautiful waterfalls along the way, to a stunning cirque basin.

Similar to Rainer’s Wonderland Trail, Adam’s Round-the-Mountain Trail and Hood's Timberline Trail, the Loowit Trail around Mount St. Helens is nothing short of spectacular. If you enjoy solitude, navigation challenges, eye-popping vistas, and fascinating geology, consider adding the Loowit Trail to your list.

If it’s your first time visiting Patagonia, a visit to Torres del Paine will most likely be on your itinerary, and for good reason. This spectacular Chilean region offers some of the best trekking in the world - dramatic granite spires, immense glaciers, glistening turquoise lakes - all the ingredients for an unforgettable and rugged adventure.

Gorgeous alpine meadows and pitch-perfect backcountry camping make this area, especially at sunset, a wonderland. It gets its name from the red castle-like peaks that stand like a fortress above the basin.

With spectacular fields of wildflowers well into summer, incredible mountain scenery, and cozy campsites nestled in beautiful meadows, backpacking in the Mount Adams Wilderness should definitely be on your radar.

Few things in the outdoors make people squirm as much as ticks, and for good reason. Besides being carriers of some awful diseases, they’re pretty disgusting to look at and remove, particularly when they're attached and engorged. In this article we'll cover general information on ticks, prevention, removal, and how to best protect yourself.

In the world of integrated stoves, two models stand apart in our opinion: the Jetboil MiniMo and MSR WindBurner. While both stoves perform very well and are worth recommending, we wanted to put the two systems up against each other to see which one wins out in a range of performance categories.

The Goat Rocks Wilderness drapes over the crest of the Cascade Range in South-Central Washington, offering endless views of iconic Cascade peaks and volcanoes. Numerous snowfields flank its craggy ridges and peaks, while steep drainages open into basins filled with alpine meadows and glacial lakes.

The sale we wait all year for is finally here - REI's Anniversary Sale. Running from May 18th-28th, their biggest sale of the year includes some of our favorite backpacking and hiking gear. We put together this list of items we’re most excited about. Enjoy!

Whether you're preparing for the W Trek in Torres del Paine or chasing sunrises on Fitz Roy, packing the right gear to ensure you're safe and comfortable is essential. Our gear checklist will help you keep your weight to a minimum so you can see and do more.

Patagonia is one of the most pristine and wild regions on our planet. Just the word itself evokes images of windswept landscapes with jagged granite spires twisting to the sky, immense glaciers and some of the largest ice fields on Earth.

One of the nation’s smallest national parks, 56.2-square mile Bryce Canyon National Park in south-central Utah isn’t really a canyon in the usual sense. Comprised of a series of more than a dozen horseshoe-shaped chromatic limestone amphitheaters on the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, it’s a wonder of wind and rain erosion that has resulted in a maze of slot canyons, windows, and & spires.

The Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt is the best sleeping bag/quilt I’ve ever taken on the trail. If you’re like me and you dislike feeling constricted in tight-fitting ultralight sleeping bags, you should definitely check out the Revelation.

The MiniMo Cooking System by Jetboil is one of the most efficient and convenient integrated stove systems on the market. With all the cooking components you'll need in a compact package, its fast boil times will ensure you have a hot meal quickly after a long day on the trail. Some features we love in the MiniMo are its convenient push button ignitor, sturdy metal handles, wide pot shape, and secure lid with pour spouts.

For an adventure that firmly grounds you in Zion National Park’s backcountry where few day hikers roam, The Zion Traverse, also called the Trans-Zion Trek, isn’t so much a single trail as it is a group of connected trails.

The MSR WindBurner Stove System is among the highest quality and best performing integrated stove systems on the market. We love its exceptional performance in windy weather, its speedy boil times, and great fuel efficiency.

If you’re looking for one sleeping bag to do it all, it's tough to beat the value of the REI Magma 10 (and Magma 17 for women). The Magma is constructed with high-quality materials, has an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio, will keep you comfortable into sub-freezing temperatures, and comes at a surprisingly reasonable price in the world of premium down sleeping bags.

One of my favorite shots from this weekend’s backpacking trip in Death Valley. A natural yin and yang balance between light and size and ruggedness and beauty. Marble Canyon was really spectacular.
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Also, we just posted a full guide to this awesome 26-mile loop on our blog, and winter’s the perfect time to take it on.
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#deathvalley #marblecanyon #cottonwoodmarblecanyonloop #cleverhiker

Went on an incredible backpacking trip in Death Valley this past weekend with some of my closest friends. It’s always good to spend time in nature with people you care about.
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#deathvalley #cottonwoodmarblecanyonloop #cleverhiker

Just finished up day 4 on our JMT thru-hike!! The weather has been lovely, our packs are feeling good, and we’re very excited for what lies ahead. At the moment we’re chillin at Red’s Meadow on mile 60 of the trail. Eating some good food and enjoying a cold brewski. About 160 miles left in our journey, which we’re expecting will take about 12-13 more days. Hope all is well in your world!! .
#jmt2018 #johnmuirtrail

Lovely hike up to Wheeler Peak today, highest point in NM. 🤗

Had a stellar day yesterday. Got some solid work done in the morning, ate some delicious grub in Bozeman, and headed out to the mountains to camp. Any day with alpine lakes is a win in my books. 👌

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Annapurna Range - Nepal

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." - John Muir

Half Dome - Yosemite NP

At CleverHiker, we believe that backpacking adventures provide some of life’s most rewarding experiences. Our goal is to help make your adventures as rewarding and enjoyable as possible, and to inspire you to plan your next excursion.

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